Photo ID to vote – it just makes sense

Greg Perry

Saturday

Jul 28, 2012 at 12:01 AMJul 28, 2012 at 8:22 PM

With the Aug. 7 primary and the Nov. 6 general elections just around the corner, I feel compelled to bring up the subject of voter photo ID requirements and the need to elect those who will try very hard to make it the law of the land.

With the Aug. 7 primary and the Nov. 6 general elections just around the corner, I feel compelled to bring up the subject of voter photo ID requirements and the need to elect those who will try very hard to make it the law of the land.

In the Jerry Plantz column of May 15, “Protect the voting rights of citizens,” he stated “occasionally I have to flagwave to remind others that millions of American men and women from Concord to the mountains of Afghanistan have died for our priceless gift of freedom and our undeniable right to vote.” We absolutely agree with that statement, Mr. Plantz; however, you were so busy flagwaving you conveniently forgot to mention they also died to protect and preserve the integrity of that vote.

Let us not forget elections have consequences, which are far reaching and long lasting and most certainly merit adequate safeguards regarding the integrity of all cast votes. Google “Lou Pritchett update” and those without Internet ask a friend to go to the library to view some of those consequences.

I would prefer not to bring political party affiliation up, but sometimes it’s necessary to make a point. Why are a majority of our Democrat House and Senate members, our Democrat secretary of state and our Democrat governor, Jay Nixon, so adamantly opposed to election photo ID requirements?

Governor Nixon vetoed SB3, which had finally made its way through the General Assembly, which established photo ID requirements for voting and requirements for advance voting. I feel Gov. Nixon’s veto of SB3 was clearly partisan. However, he’s supposed to represent all the people of the state of Missouri.

Several groups, including the NAACP, AARP, the League of Women Voters and the ACLU, had called for Democrat Gov. Nixon to veto this photo ID legislation. It’s very disheartening that a large portion of our elected and appointed representatives refuse to support common-sense photo ID requirements.

Those who claim there is no, to very little, voting fraud are not fully addressing the issue. How could they possibly know and honestly state there is no voter fraud if they don’t implement a system to check for it? The most common-sense and economical means would be a properly acquired photo ID.

Due to the potential ramifications, integrity in all elections is paramount. You have to possess various forms of identification to be a functioning member of society, and a photo ID is certainly one of them. We all have responsibilities and costs we incur until the day we die. Our election boards go to great lengths to make certain that all registered voters have an adequate opportunity to cast their ballots. Why would anyone be opposed to validating a person’s vote, which dictates the functions of our government and society and directly and indirectly affects almost all facets of your lives?

It’s far too easy to register and cast an uncontested vote in a majority of our states. It infuriates me to consider the probability of hundreds of thousands and probably a lot more people nationwide who aren’t even in our country legally who have falsely registered and voted and consequently changed the outcome of untold elections and issues. And yet, most Democrat elected representatives fail to support an election photo ID requirement.

It’s a travesty that every state in the union doesn’t require a potential voter to completely and unequivocally prove they are eligible to vote. To quote Missouri Secretary of State Democrat Robin Carnahan, “The Missouri Constitution protects the fundamental rights of eligible voters to have their voices heard. It defies common sense to weaken those rights.” However, if someone votes illegally and consequently cancels out my vote, they have trampled on my fundamental right as an eligible voter to have my voice heard. It defies common sense to not afford all voters that protection.

Hopefully we can replace Secretary of State Robin Carnahan with Republican candidate Bill Stouffer. What are the liberals, Democrats, Jay Nixon, Robin Carnahan, the NAACP and the ACLU afraid of? Are they opposed to a photo-ID-required election because they’re concerned that the outcome wouldn’t be in their favor?

This issue has been obscured for far too long by those using the elderly, poor, handicapped and minorities as the alleged victims regarding their baseless argument against photo identification.

This coming election we need to vote for Republican candidates who will successfully protect and safeguard all those voters who can legally cast a vote. We need elected representatives who will be movers and shakers and heed the people’s wills and desires, not more incumbents waiting to term limit out and advance to the next government gig, all the while collecting a check and all the benefits and perks, playing it safe and voting on the issues put before them along party lines. I’m damn tired of all their excuses.

So, the next time any incumbent solicits your vote, regardless of their party, ask yourself and them, “What did they accomplish when they asked for and were given a chance to make a difference?”

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